We went to see a show last night at a a local venue, and I had several moments of gratefulness for Chi Running and Chi Walking and what they have taught me about learning to listen to my body:

The band last night consisted of a banjo player, a bassist, a guitarist, and a drummer. Once during each song, I would concentrate on trying to hear each instrument individually, singling it out from the other instruments playing at the same moment: for someone who has no musical talent, it’s a slightly difficult exercise.

I realized as I was doing this exercise, that it’s very much like doing a Body Scan and listening to my body as I am walking or running: taking a moment to do a Scan, sense any tightness, recognizing it and letting it go.

I am extraordinarily grateful for the knowledge of Body Scanning: every time something in my body needs attention when I am running or walking (or standing or sitting or washing dishes), I now have the skills to listen, to respond and to learn.

The venue where we saw music last night has very few seats. As a result, like most musical venues, we stood for the entire show, about 4 hours.

Partway through the show, I realized that my back didn’t hurt at all, that my knees were soft, my core engaged and my feet felt perfectly normal. I can distinctly remember in years past, going to see shows, or walking through cities, or going to a museum and feeling absolutely wiped out after only a few hours.

Thanks to Chi Running and Chi Walking, I have learned to pay attention to my body all the time and am always prepared to listen and respond in order to keep my body happy, moving painlessly and without injury.

Over Thanksgiving, I have spent time on my feet in the kitchen, at parties, shopping, talking to friends. I have spend a lot of time walking as well, talking strolls with Oliver and Ivan. I can say that the entire holiday has been spent blissfully, listening to my body, learning what it needed, and responding with an appropriate Form Focus right in the moment.

What a gift! There are many of you who know what I am talking about. There are some of you who are learning… Just imagine how many people out there have yet to learn about the gift of pain-free movement!

Thanks for your note. The midsole is the fleshiest part of your foot, between the ball of your foot, headed back toward your heel, about to the front of your heel. When you land on your foot, you want to land as “neutral” as possible, which means not favoring the outside or the inside of your foot. Just land flat.

You can also imagine that you have 4 posts on the bottom of your feet: 2 at the front of your midsole, on either side of your foot, and 2 and that back of your midsold, on either side of your foot. When you stand, imagine these posts at the bottom of your feet and provide equal weight on each section. Then, when you begin to run, imagine those posts are still there and land so that each of the 4 posts “hits” the ground at the same time and with equal force. With an appropriate lean and ankle lift, this is easily accomplished.

Does this make sense? I am going to draw up a graphic right now and see if I can upload it.

Depending on how high your arch is, these won’t be perfectly placed, but you get the idea. If you have a very high arch, your foot will land more on the ouside of your foot, but with a light foot strike, the pressure won’t be enormous on your feet, especially if you try to visualize that all 4 posts are touching the ground, even if it’s not 100% accurate.

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